Forgot my T1 pump spares so help!

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Drlamb23

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I’m in Brighton for the weekend and realised this morning that I forgot to pick up the travel bag with pump consumables to do a set change.
I put a general post out on Facebook to see if in could find anyone local to help and even requested to join a couple of groups that were suggested/ came up, but am still a bit stuck.
I do have the back up pens, but have been pumping for so long that I’d forgotten what to do. I did call my DSNs recently but don’t appear to have had a callback, and in the middle of relocating it had slipped. Luckily I got some good info from the Boots pharmacist on the high street, so have self administered levemir dose, but struggling with the bolus.
So I have a shop bought sandwich for lunch, 54g carb. Current ratio according to pump is 1:7. So that’s literally how many 7’s in 54 right? Answer is 7 with 7 remainder. So the bolus would be 7-8u?
 
I’m a bit embarrassed about the basic nature of this, but obvs need to get it right!
 
@drlam23 if your pen insulin to carb ratio is 1:7, you calculation looks Ok. However, we tend to need less insulin when pumping. For example, my insulin to carb ratio on my pump is 1:14 and with a pen it is 1:10.
You are also likely to find your basal dose will be higher with a pen (my pump basal is 13 units and my pen dose is 18 units).
Once you have sussed it, I highly recommend making a note on a piece of paper you keep with your pens or on your phone. Pumps fail and humans fail so we need a back up.
Thankfully numbers stick in my head. However, when I have been forced to revert to pens, I have struggled to remember to take my basal. I ended up putting an alarm on my phone to remind me.
 
Hi,

Presumably you still have a working CGM to monitor your levels closely? Your arithimatic is correct. Do you need any correction on top of the bolus. ie what is your premeal reading as I would factor that into rounding up or down... So if I was in the 4s or 5s, I might round down to 7 and if I was higher I would go for 8units.
 
Yes Dexcom working fine thank goodness! Also monitoring via fingerprick testing to be sure
Right I’m going in!
 
I would be a bit concerned about a pharmacist advising me on basal dose at short notice like that. Your Levemir dose is going to be a best guess, so do keep a close eye on things.
 
rebrascora said:
I would be a bit concerned about a pharmacist advising me on basal dose at short notice like that. Your Levemir dose is going to be a best guess, so do keep a close eye on things.
Click to expand...
He didn’t give me numbers, just found info on working it out, which I was too panicked to find for myself…I managed to get an average total daily dose and followed the formula from there. It’s not perfect, but it got me out of a jam and is as far as I can remember, pretty much the same sort of thing my DSN walked me through…
 
Inka said:
When is/was the set change due @Drlamb23 ? Not ideal but I’d have just left the cannula in if it only for a short time over the change time.
Click to expand...
The alarm for the empty cartridge woke me up this morning at about half five (thanks T1!). Five minutes later I realised I’d left the supplies at home…
 
Drlamb23 said:
The alarm for the empty cartridge woke me up this morning at about half five (thanks T1!). Five minutes later I realised I’d left the supplies at home…
Click to expand...

Oh! Empty cartridge - no good then! Someone will probably tell me off for ‘wasting insulin’ but I always fill mine well over what I’ll use.

I hope you’re ok on MDI. Luckily it’s only a short time, but I know how stressful it is.
 
You are not the only one to have done this and don’t be embarrassed about asking questions. There was a recent thread where people posted their silly mistakes. Your calculations are right and then there are corrections to do. So do the best that you can on pens and keep a close watch on your levels with your sensor.

I drowned my pump whilst away on holiday, and had no record of the info I needed to switch since the pump was broken. I now have a record of the info about basal doses and bolus ratios in with my pens, as @helli suggested.
 
Drlamb23 said:
The alarm for the empty cartridge woke me up this morning at about half five (thanks T1!). Five minutes later I realised I’d left the supplies at home…
Click to expand...
Can you set an alarm for cartridge getting low? Mine is set at 20 units, but I have then ignored it on occasions and got caught out.
 
Drlamb23 said:
I thought it was but missed it this time?
Click to expand...
Head has been so full of logistics
SB2015 said:
You are not the only one to have done this and don’t be embarrassed about asking questions. There was a recent thread where people posted their silly mistakes. Your calculations are right and then there are corrections to do. So do the best that you can on pens and keep a close watch on your levels with your sensor.

I drowned my pump whilst away on holiday, and had no record of the info I needed to switch since the pump was broken. I now have a record of the info about basal doses and bolus ratios in with my pens, as @helli suggested.
Click to expand...
have experienced a water / pump interface that resulted in much the same…learmed that lesson pretty quickly!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top